Breed-specific legislation is a law or ordinance passed by a legislative body pertaining to a specific breed or breeds of domesticated animals. In practice, it generally refers to laws or ordinances pertaining to a specific dog breed or breeds.

{...}This legislation ranges from outright bans on the possession of these dogs to restrictions and conditions on ownership, and often establishes a legal presumption that these dogs are prima facie legally "dangerous" or "vicious." In response, some state-level governments in the United States have prohibited or restricted the ability of municipal governments within those states to enact breed-specific legislation.

It is now generally settled in case law that jurisdictions in the United States and Canada have the right to enact breed-specific legislation; however, the appropriateness and effectiveness of breed-specific legislation in preventing dog bite fatalities and injuries is disputed.

Seems unfair and racist (in a dog way) to me. I've known good pit bulls (most of 'em) and scary pit bulls (one of 'em) just like I've known good...say, white people (most of 'em) and scary white people (more than one of 'em).

If I'm shown as having been active here recently it's either because I've been using the gallery, because I've been using the search engine looking up something from way back, or because I've been reading the most excellent UK by-elections thread again.

I know little about the subject but my initial impression is dog breeds tend to differ to some extent in temperament and behavior. I reckon the fashion in which a dog is raised and the environment in which it is placed have considerable influence on how each individual tends to interact with human beings but, whereas human "races" are superficial and socially-constructed despite a lack of substantive genetic variation to justify doing so, a lot of dogs have been carefully bred to promote and/or discourage certain, specific physical characteristics and behavioral tendencies that probably warrant at least a wee bit of consideration.

Nonetheless, unless someone here exposes me to compelling arguments for why there should be breed-specific laws, I would much prefer that pertinent regulations be carefully designed to apply universally to all dogs rather than overly-stereotyping or even placing a stigma on certain breeds.

Regardless, even if it is technically more accurate, the term "racist" should never be applied to animals, because it denigrates the term by the implication that any treatment of animals can be equated to the mistreatment of humans through that ideology known as racism. In other words, if you lynch a black guy for being black, it's "racism", no worse than if you shot a black dog for being black. Which is ironic because the consideration of black guys as no better than dogs is a hallmark of racism. The very use of the term in this way, is, ironically, in itself racist.

Regardless, even if it is technically more accurate, the term "racist" should never be applied to animals, because it denigrates the term by the implication that any treatment of animals can be equated to the mistreatment of humans through that ideology known as racism. In other words, if you lynch a black guy for being black, it's "racism", no worse than if you shot a black dog for being black. Which is ironic because the consideration of black guys as no better than dogs is a hallmark of racism. The very use of the term in this way, is, ironically, in itself racist.

But any person can be a victim of racist crimes, so really it would have to imply that all people are no better than dogs. While a disturbing implication, it is hardly a racist one.

There are some breeds of dogs that are tamer than others, but as a general rule the various breeds of Canis familiaris are sufficiently similar that laws differentiating between them are generally more trouble than they are worth. However, laws restricting ownership of wild canine species or hybrids between domesticated dogs and and coyotes, dingos, jackals, and/or wolves definitely are a good idea.

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Quote from: Ignatius of Antioch

He that possesses the word of Jesus, is truly able to bear his very silence. ó Epistle to the Ephesians 3:21a

No they're never a good idea, it's not the breed that is the problem, it's dog-owners who lack the experience and time tp properly train their dogs. A much better idea would be Dangerous Dog-Owner Laws. (If we can't put them down at least keep them from owning dogs)